How to Transfer Photos From iPhone to Computer

The iPhone camera gets evolved with the introduction of the new iteration of the Apple flagship. That’s a good thing as it lets you click pictures and shoot videos in high quality. But, with enhanced resolution and better quality the file size also increases, which in turn consumes more space on the phone memory. Storage issue becomes all the more challenging when you are using the RAW or 4K resolution. Even those who have the most expensive iPhone with highest storage often end up wishing they had more.

The good thing is that you don’t always have to keep the images stored in your phone memory. You could back them up and store on the iCloud or your computer. Transferring the photos to a computer frees up the space on your iPhone and allows you to capture more photos and videos. In this article we will talk about different methods to transfer photos from the iPhone to computer.

METHOD 1 – TRANSFER USING THE USB CABLE

This is one of the easiest and fastest ways to send the photos to your computer. Whether you are using Mac OS computer or Windows computer, the process is pretty much similar and has remained the same over the years.

Transfer Photos to Mac OS

Here are the steps to transfer photos to your Mac Computer:

1. Plug your iPhone into your Mac Computer.

2. After a few seconds the Photos app will launch automatically on your Mac. In case it does not open, you can go to launchpad and access it from there. You can also use iPhoto or Aperture app for this purpose.

3. In case you are using Photos, you will see the Import button on the top right in blue color. You could click it to import all the new photos or you can select the photos individually. If you wish to delete the photos from iPhone after import, check the box labelled ‘Delete items after import.’

Remember that Mac OS will open the Photos app automatically and by default every time your iPhone is connected to it. If you don’t want it to open by default, uncheck the option, ‘Open Photos for this device’ on the left at the top.

Transfer Photos to Windows

There is no doubt that Mac OS offers better connectivity to iPhone as compared to Windows, owing to the fact that both are Apple devices. But, this does not mean transferring photos to Windows has to be any difficult. In fact, the process is pretty much the same as Mac OS. Here is what you need to do to transfer photos to Windows from iPhone:

1. Connect your iPhone to the Windows computer using USB cable.
2. It will take a few seconds for the OS to detect your iPhone. Once detected Photos app must launch automatically. If it does not, you can launch it from the Start Menu or desktop shortcut.

3. Click the Import button on the top right (you may need to unlock iPhone first).

4. Select the photos that you wish to transfer to the Windows hard drive.
5. Click ‘Continue’ on the bottom of the Photos app screen.
6. On the subsequent screen, click ‘Import’ button to copy the photos to your computer. If you wish to delete the photos from your iPhone, before clicking Import button check, ‘Delete imported items from Apple iPhone after importing.’

METHOD 2 – TRANSFER PHOTOS WITH iCLOUD

First of all, you will need to backup your photos using iCloud. This is how you can do it:

1. Make sure that your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network
2. Open Settings from iPhone homescreen
3. Select iCloud
4. Scroll down and then tap Backup
5. Turn iCloud backup on if it is disabled
6. Tap ‘Back Up Now’

Now you will need to use the iCloud Windows client to transfer the pictures. Follow the steps below:

1. Download and install iCloud for Windows from https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT204283

2. Restart your Windows
3. When the OS has loaded again, launch iCloud and sign in with the same Apple ID and password that you have used on your iPhone
4. You will see Photos on the screen; next to it is the ‘Options’ button; click the Options button
5. Select ‘iCloud Photo Library’ and ‘Download new photos and videos to my PC’
6. Click Done
7. Open the ‘Computer’ or ‘My Computer’ on your Windows
8. On the left, click ‘Favourites’ folder
9. Now click on ‘iCloud Photos’
10. Click on ‘Download photos and videos’

This will save the photos to your PC. Now, if you want, you can delete the photos on your iPhone.

ALTERNATIVES

You can use DropBox cloud service as well to transfer the photos to your computer. Google Photos is another option you can use. You will need to install Google Photos on your iPhone as well as computer. Some users prefer transferring media to their computer through iTunes.

CONCLUSION

Transferring the photos from iPhone to computer is fairly easy. You could plug in your device to the Mac or Windows computer and follow the onscreen instructions. You can also use cloud services like iCloud and Dropbox. Google Photos and iTunes are also good alternatives to transfer photos.